Eastern Fluid Power, Kingston, Ontario, is a custom manufacturer, distributor, and repair center for fluid power systems and components. Established in 1990, the company does business throughout North America, Europe, Brazil, China, and Japan.

Three Gold Associate Member companies have been elected for three-year terms on the Associate Advisory Board: Union Tank Car Co. (elected by the Car Owner & Lessor category); FreightCar America, Inc. (elected by the Mechanical & Rolling Stock Manufacturing category), and Plasser American Corp. (elected by the Track, Bridge, Signal & Engineering category).

Voting for the final “At-Large” seat on the Associate Advisory Board officially opened on Oct. 1. Primary member contacts for each Gold and Silver Associate Member company have received new ballots with voting instructions.

Recognizing the significant involvement of regional and short line railroads to the industry and the Association of American Railroads, AAR’s Jeff Usher has been given an expanded area of responsibility and title; he is now Assistant Vice President, Business Services and Regional and Short Line Railroad Liaison. Currently, Usher works closely with the short line industry in matters relating to information technology and business services. This expanded role will allow him to develop and expand formal relationships with short line railroads and better relate the needs of those railroads to the AAR. He also will enhance how AAR communicates with AAR short line members and the short line community at large. He is charged with formalizing ways that short line and regional railroads can provide input into AAR’s role in the operations of the North American rail industry.